LEG 1 : « DROMADAIRE »
Transfer : 54 km - Special : 257 km in two laps - Transfer : 54 km
AMV Shamrock - Rallye du Maroc (September 21st -27th 2008)
This first day, named « Dromadaire » has surprised more than one competitor, including the stars of the show, who have had a hard time on the 237 km of the timed section. Stéphane Clair had warned them that this warm-up would be a tough one, and tough it was. If Leonid Novitskiy did quite well on both laps, Jean Louis Schlesser ended up 17 mn and 13s behind the leader, followed by Ronand Chabot, over one hour behind.
For the bikes, a hard fight between Michel Marchini and David Frétigné, but the Corsican might get a two-hour penalty for not validating one or two waypoints. Behind David Frétigné, second in the overall, Thierry Bethys and Bruno Da Costa third and fourth. Elysabete Jacinto, like a queen, gets her MAN truck in 4th position, after a faultless leg. The day's performance is for Richard Doux on his Polaris SSV, 11th in the first lap.
The lap with a thousand trails…
As announced, this warm-up was varied, a patchwork of all the terrains one can encounter in Morocco. The first 50 km, very technical, were a good introduction but it was mostly the constant changing of caps that was troublesome. For those who made it out safely, the 30 mn of refuelling were a real salvation before the second lap. But the numerous trails left by more unlucky competitors and the damaged terrain did not make the afternoon easier. To finish with, 46 competitors only could get on the second lap on time.
Tough day for the bikers…
On two wheels, big show for the alleged champions. Although David Frétigné and Michel Marchini on Yamahas stayed together the entire day, the rider from Ajaccio might get a two-hour penalty for not validating one or two waypoints. At the end of the second lap, the two men only had 3/10 of a second between them… This is how Thierry Bethys and his Honda get the good deal of the day with a third place, 16 minutes behind Michel Marchini.
For this third participation in the Shamrock, Bruno Da Costa, even on his two laps, takes the fourth place. Behind Bruno, the differences are slight, and the rest of the rally will surely prove interesting. Hats down for Ken Wortman, coming all the way from Canada and who gets the 10th place, on his first rally.
On the quads, the Spaniard Climent Vicent takes the lead in his category with his Bombardier, but Vincent Albira is only three minutes behind. As for Jean-Christophe Ménard, after falling down a hole in the second lap, the quader found it had to get his machine back on track. A hard cookie, which sets him almost one hour behind Vicent.
Schlesser seeks and Novitskiy finds…
The first day of the AMV Shamrock-Rallye du Maroc had it share of surprises. Considerable differences have been made between the leaders and the rest and some competitors have had what you could call a long day.. it was mostly the navigation that was a problem and which confused some. Even the old-timers got tricked. For the newbies, panic was the word of the day.
The Novitskiy-Tyupen team, on the BMW X3 takes the lead for the cars in front of the Schlesser-Debron duo on Buggy. Chabot-Pillot, in their Toyota T2 were accurate enouh to avoid some regrettable « gardening »…
Leonid Novitskiy, imposing his fast pace, left Jean-Louis Schlesser 17 minutes behind him in the first lap. But the navigation errors of the morning did not prevent the Blue Buggy to get he best time of the afternoon. Impeccable Ronan Chabot takes the lead of the T2 category with a third in the general.
On the other hand, Etienne Smulevici, Regis Delahaye and Pascal Boutet had one hell of a day…left behind in the general, their chance for a podium has become slim. Guillaume Balloy and Jean-Noël Julien played it safe and will try to sneak up from behind.
In the truck category Elisabete Jacinto, after a blue-sky- day, had a perfect leg in her MAN truck.. first of the category in front of Bruno Bouey, the woman from Portugal takes the 4th place in the general.
Did you say SSV ?
They were looked forward to and they did make the show, especially the two Polaris, handled by Richard Doux and Samuel Lecomte. They ran into troubles before even getting into the timed section. On the liaison, the back cardan came loose on both vehicles, at the same time!!!
Both SSVs came out unharmed, whereas Frédéric Alard and Alain Fricker also had some mechanical problems. Richard Doux still gets the 11th place and Samuel Lecomte the 16th !
Tomorrow, more kilometers but a faster track which should please the speed addicts. Be careful however, going over large dunes is on the program and navigation could prove troublesome again…
Find all the information on www.npo.fr
- Lydie ARPIZOU- Photos NPO
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